Archive for June, 2011

Japan’s National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) demonstrates a concert-style 3D projection of the virtual idol Hatsune Miku — except it’s on a tabletop. (To turn off the superimposed comments in the video, select the word balloon icon in the bottom right corner of the video.) Unlike last year’s 39’s Giving Day concert, people can view Hatsune Miku dancing in 360 degrees from any seat around the table, since it uses the current fVisiON 3D display prototype developedby NICT’s Shunsuke Yoshida. No glasses are necessary to view the display in person.

Yoshida and the other members of the NICT team presented the fVisiON 3D display at the annual SIGGRAPH conference in Los Angeles last July. Researcher Dr. Shunsuke Yoshida gives plenty of details about the project he rather cannily chose to exhibit using Miku, although sadly he is silent as to just how low a viewing angle the technology allows :

fVisiOn is a novel glasses-free tabletop 3D display. The developed novel technique can float standing 3D image on a blank flat tabletop surface, and allow multiple viewers to observe the 3D from omnidirection of 360° in seated condition. It is designed to be a friendly interface for multiple users for varied tabletop tasks by featuring our glasses-free method and observation style.

For generation of the 3D images, fVisiOn employs a newly developed special optical device as a screen and a series of micro projectors arranged circularly. The combination of those devices reproduces a light field in a certain volume on the table.

The light field represents a bunch of directional rays radiated from surfaces of objects which are assumed to be on the table. The light field of our method is optimized for observing in seated condition. In other words, the fVisiOn’s viewing area occupies an oblique position above the table.

Additionally, our entire 3D imaging mechanism is installed underneath the table. It keeps the tabletop area clear and does not disturb collaborative work and natural communications. For example, fVisiOn can display virtual 3D images beside printed documents and physical mock-ups.

The developed system is a prototype to validate a 3D generation principle we proposed. It employs a conical-shaped optical device and 96 projectors, and covers the viewing area of approximately 120° around the table, though it is 1/3 of ideal implementation. This primal prototype can float the 3D images of a height of approximately 5 cm on the tabletop surface like a centerpiece in the center of the table.

Maybe it won’t take any long until you can see Hatsune Miku’s Concert without that glass wall, lol.

The new Vocaloid 3 character, still a work in progress according to the site, is in fact designed by Carnelian. Looks like Kaiko, a bit. She’s cute so nevermind~ :P

At the secret party there were video messages from many company representatives. From Crypton was Hiroyuki Itoh, representing Zero-G was Dom Keefe, and for Power FX was Bil Bryant. Many other people important to the Vocaloid scene were also present at the event, including Internet’s Noboru Murakami, VocaloRevolution’s HirotoP, Ring Suzune’s voice provider MiKA, and famous anime singer Lia of Tori no Uta fame.

Features of VOCALOID3:

The new VOCALOID3 Interface. From: Gigazine

Here is a list of the features of VOCALOID3:

It will have better quality audio: longer samples will be used (probably similar to UTAU VCV voicebanks), sibilants such as /s/ will be less “metallic-sounding”, better /w/ sounds, smoother pronunciation including for fast-talking. The transition between different voice registers (low/high) will be smoother.

It will be easier to use: there is an improved interface, with a new display of the different tracks similar to what can be seen on DAW‘s, audio files (for off-vocal tracks for instance) can now be imported, and it will now work as a VST host (it will be possible to add reverb and other effects).

It will be possible to undo or redo any previous action in the Editor.

It will be compatible with VOCALOID2 voicebanks. However, it won’t be compatible with every one of them, and there may be a price to import some of them.

It will support these new languages: Korean, Chinese and Spanish (pinyin input for Chinese and hangul input for Korean possible). The Editor will also be localized.

It will work on Windows XP/Vista/7.

There is currently no price for the VOCALOID3 editor yet, but they think it will be around 10,000 yen (125 USD).

Although VOCALOID3 only works on Windows, Kenmochi said they want to release a Mac version “as soon as possible” because it’s “very important to [them]“. He also said that they could confirm it would work well, since they have already developed VocaloWitter (previously iVOCALOID-VY1t), which runs on the iPad and iPhone’s iOS (which is derived from Mac OS X).

VOCALOID 3 also features the VOCALOID Job Plugin. This is a function that will allow exterior plugins to control the Editor’s parameters and notes. At the moment YAMAHA is developing a VOCALOID Job Plugin version of Vocalistener, and will sell it separately. The price for Vocalistener hasn’t been announced yet.

The API of VOCALOID3 will be made public to licensed companies, whilst the technical details about the VOCALOID Job Plugin feature will be made public so that users can develop their own plugins compatible with VOCALOID3 and sell them on the VOCALOID STORE. YAMAHA will also start granting licences for the synthesis engine itself so that it can be used in thing such as PC games for instance.

However, this awesome new VOCALOID3 Editor will actually be sold separately from the voicebanks, contrary to the previous versions. It will be sold on VOCALOID STORE, and the price hasn’t been announced yet. A trial version of the Editor with limited features, called the “Tiny VOCALOID3 Editor”, will instead be shipped with the different voicebanks.

Here are the differences between the different Editors (VOCALOID3/Tiny VOCALOID3):

Number of tracks: 16/1.

Maximum number of bars: 999/17.

Effects: any effect available through the VTS Host/Reverb.

VOCALOID Job Plugin: Yes/No.

VOCALOID2 Library Import Tool: Yes/No.

New and old voices for VOCALOID3:

Eri Kitamura will be voicing CUL

With the VOCALOID3 engine coming up, the many companies who are currently releasing voicebanks have begun making plans on how to use the new engine. Here is what you can expect from your favourite companies.

AH Software:

AH Software is planning on making VB’s based on many singers. They also want to use Vocaloid to produce “different types of sounds”, not limiting them to only simulating singing. AHS plans to make Vocaloid “evolve”.

Crypton Future Media:

Crypton has enjoyed success so far with their current VB, and are planning on keeping their existing VB’s on VOCALOID2. There are no plans to re-release them on V3, but converting them to V3 will be free.

Internet are also releasing Megpoid Extend (tentative). Megpoid will have added four different types of voices: Power, Whisper, Adult and Sweet. It will be released on VOCALOID2, but will also have a VOCALOID3 version.

Power FX:

For VOCALOID3, they plan to release one new English-speaking Vocaloid.

YAMAHA:

The VY series will be updating to VOCALOID3: Yamaha will sell VY1 for V3 and VY2 for V3. Both of them will be sold together with the full Editor.

YAMAHA will also be releasing a new voicebank based on Miu Sakamoto (坂本美雨, the daughter of legendary electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra‘s Ryuuichi Sakamoto).

Zero-G:

Zero-G has plans to release two new English-speaking Vocaloids.

The Korean company SBS Artech will release a Korean voicebank; the voice provider will be artist Kim Tahi (17 year old, part of the K-pop girl band “Glam”). She will have both a Japanese and a Korean voicebank, and English pronunciation will be possible by using the Korean one. The voicebank is planned to be released this Fall.

The company 1st PLACE will be releasing its first Vocaloid, based on the singer Lia.

The Future of Vocaloid Culture:

MOEJAPAN has plans!

YAMAHA conducted a street survey with males and females from age 14 to 50; it was conducted in late April 2011 in different districts of Tokyo. According to the survey, 68.4% of peoples in their teens, 61.1% in their twenties, 41.5% in their thirties, and 35.2% in their forties know about Vocaloid. About 1/4 of the girls in their teens often listen to Vocaloid music; 8.4% of them only listen to Vocaloid music, and 15.6% of them listen to it a lot (it constitutes more than 30% of what they listen to).

creating a record label, VOCALOID MUSIC PUBLISHING, that will also deal with copyrights among other things and will be “flexible” to match the users’ need, and will serve as an intermediate with JASRAC for instance for partial registration. It will also help doujin circles to exchange information

encouraging the creation of new characters (through the Everyone’s Vocaloid Project for instance)

A compilation album titled “the VOCALOIDs”, featuring all the Vocaloids released so far as well as the new VOCALOID3 voicebanks will be released in September. It will have 18 tracks, and will be sold at a price of 2,300 yen (29 USD). VocaloP will deal with the vocal tracks, which will use VocaListener. The album comes with “magnificent” booklet which will introduce the characters. A demo of the album was revealed during VOCALOID MIX on June 11.

Studio Deen and Surfers’ Paradise will jointly organise the “i-style project” with doujin artist Carnellian doing the illustrations. It isn’t clear what this project will be yet, but Studio Deen’s managing director Noguchi talked about proposing a “new lifestyle with Vocaloid”.

MOEJAPAN has introduced the concept of a “Vocaloid you can meet”, the “fusion of a 2D Vocaloid and a 3D idol”: Vocaloidol. “Real” idols from two agencies, MOGRA and Dear Stage, will provide their voices to several Vocaloids, and they will meet their fans.